Fountain-pen



(N Model.)

A. H. DOWN.

Y FOUNTAIN PEN. v N0` 556,623. Patented Mar. 17,1896.

WITNESSES M w fr@ sfeer eminem COPY UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR n. DowN, or NEW 1-IAvEN, CONNEGTICUT.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.V

srnorrroATIoN forming part of Letters- Patent No. 556,623, 'dated March 1v, 189e. Application led October 11, 1895. Serial No. 565,850. (N o model.)

.To @ZZ/whom, it may concern:l Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. DOWN, a citizen. of the United States, residing at New Haven, inthe county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens;

and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a novel fountain-penof which the following description, in connection with the aecomf.

panyin g drawings, is a specificatiomnumbers being used to designate the sever-a1 parts.

l Figure 1 is a -longitudinal section ofmy novel fountain-pen complete; Figs. 2 and 4, enlarged detail -plan views of. the head and iinger; Fig. 3, a section on the linea: a: in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a front end elevation as seen from the left in Fig. 4. f

1 denotes the reservoir, and-2 the threaded plug by which the base of the reservoir is closed andwhich is provided withl an opening 3. At the other end'of the reservoir-is ad nozzle 4,als9 threaded to engage the reservoir.

7 denotes a pen-carryingrod, 6 a head at the outer end of the rod, and 8 a barrel within the reservoir, which is provided with spiral slots 9 and a rod 10, which passes through opening 3 inthe block and'is rigidly secured to a base-piece 13, so that rotationof the basepiece will carry the rod and the barrel.

19 denotes a cap which is threaded to engage the base-piece when the pen is in use, or to engage the nozzle to cover the pen proper when the latter is not in use. At the inner end of the pen-carrying rod is a pin 17 which passes through the spiral slots in the barrel and the ends of which engage longitudinal grooves 18 in the inner side of the reservoir, so that rod 7, the head and the pen are normally held against rotation; but when the base-piece and barrel are rotated -pin 17 is caused through its engagement with the spiral slots in the barrel` to travel longitudinally in grooves 18 and to carry the pen outward into operative position or to retract itfas may be required.

-v 28 denotes the pen, the edges of which are bent to form wings 29, which incline toward each other and engage bevels 30,011 the head, whereby the pen is made self-locking.

None of the `partsherein described are of my invention, and I make no claim thereto` My invention consists in providing the head 'and pen-carrying rod with `a longitudinal opening 32, which extends from end to end thereof, the outer end ofthe opening lying under the pen proper, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and the inner end terminating near the lower end-of the reservoir.. As a matter of fact, as shown in the drawings the opening 32 is closed by pin-17. This may be obviated by making thehole through the pen-carrying rod larger than the pin, so that air may pass freely into the barrel and thence to the reser.-

voir around the pin, or by forming a hole '33 in the pen-carrying lrod, which shall intersect withopening 32, as shown in Fig. 1; and my invention furthermore consists in providing the head with a forwardly-extending finger 34', 4 which rests closelyupon the top of the pen and is provided with Va slot 35 extending through it. This slot may extend to the end of the. finger, dividingit into two parts, as in Fig., 2, or may be closed at the end, as in Fig. 4, as may be preferred. The inner end of this slotterminates in a groove 36 in the head,y

said groove extending to the inner end of the head. This construction enables me to produce a fountain-pen operating by gravity instead of by capillary attract-ion, which will feed readily at all times without shaking, which will not leak, and in which bubbling of the ink is wholly prevented. is accomplished by means of the longitudinal opening in thev pencarrying rod, which admits air to the base of the reservoir to take the place of ink -that is fed to the pen by gravity.

. lVhen the pen is held in operative position ink will of course pass freely into groove 36 and will pass from thel groove into the slot This result when the latter is opened by pressure of the pen upon the paper in use. The sides of the slot lie close to each other, and the inger lies in contact with' the pen, so that until the slot is opened slightly by movements of the pen in use no ink can pass down t'o the pen.

.The operation is very satisfactory owing to the fact that the ink-supply is controlled automatiealiy by the pressure which the user exerts upon the pen.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1.' In a fountain-pen a pen-carrying rod having a head by which the pen proper is carried, a groove in said head extending to the inner end thereof, and a finger extending forward from the head which lies above and in contact with the pen and is provided with a slot Icommunieating' with the groove', the said slot being normally closed when the pen is not in. Urbe said head and pen-carrying rod having a longitudinal opening extending from end to end whereby air is admitted to the reservoir to take the place of ink which in use passes from the groove into 'the slot when the latter is opened by movement of the pen.

2. In a fountain-pen the combination with a pen-carrying rod and a head having a 1ongitndinal opening through them, said head having a groove 36, of a inger extending for- Ward from the head which lies above and in Contact with the pen and is provided with a slot extending into the groove the said slot being normally closed when the pen is not in use substantially as described for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aix :my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR II. DOWVN. lVitnesses A. M. WoosTnR, S. V. RICHARDSON. 

